Medicinal Chicken Soup
Guys, it’s been one of those days. This morning, the horse was sighted standing in his shed with his head sticking out into the rain. It was funny and should have been a sign.
Like a sign to stay in bed, or better, spend the day making chicken soup & tending the fire.
In good news, Chinese Medicine is a medical system based on our ability to observe and listen.
Like I've talked about in a previous post, we listen through living in accordance with the seasons; observing the natural world & eating what grows seasonally; rising and resting with the changing light; modifying our exercise and activities to best support us throughout the year.
Another way that we listen is to our bodies, which are consistently providing information about our health to our busy, often distracted minds. We must listen to practice self-care; to nurture ourselves and our families; to notice our changing needs throughout the year and our lifetime; and to respond accordingly.
In contrast, the practice of Western medicine (not always! but commonly) promotes the silencing of symptoms to “get back to” your life – as if we can just say, “quiet body, I’m trying to live!”
There’s nothing that warms my heart and inspires me more when my patients say, "I get it – my body is asking me to...
...slow down & rest"
...exercise more!"
...not eat that thing that makes me feel bad"
...eat that thing that makes me feel good!"
...drink more water!"
...drink less water!"
...get a massage & some acupuncture"
...go to yoga class or zumba class (!)"
...recommit to my morning taiji practice / walk / hike / meditation"
In the lineage of Chinese Medicine I am a part of, we have a saying – an axiom, if you will – first credited to my teacher’s teacher’s teacher, Dr. John Shen, who said:
Chinese Medicine is in the life.
What does this mean, exactly?
Well, it means a lot of things. But one of the most important things I think it means is:
medicine & health & wellbeing & your vitality are not external to you.
Rather, they are accessible to you through your choices, your habits, your priorities; through your orientation towards yourself and your beliefs about the world around you.
Another thing that this axiom means to me is:
some things are life affirming, while others are not.
The more that we engage in the activities, beliefs, habits, & relationships that we know – that we can FEEL – are life affirming, the more we re-establish the yang qi in our bodies with a given set of functions.
And the more we can access our vitality; live joyfully; interact authentically; and really, do whatever it is we are here to do.
So, given all that, I present to you a 9 ingredient (the most yang number, according to the Yi Jing!) chicken soup that will restore, nurture, and support you.
This soup features goji berries (which you can find in the bulk section of your local grocery store).
Goji berries, or gou qi zi, have been used medicinally in Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. The berries are sweet in flavor and neutral in temperature. When you rehydrate them in the soup, they plump up! They are nourishing, enriching, & moistening.
The gou qi zi is paired with cinnamon bark, or rou gui, another medicinal herb of Chinese Medicine.
Rou gui specifically strengthens your yang qi, strongly warms, and moves your blood. Its volatile oils smell strong & spicy.
The gou qi zi & rou gui complement each other and bring some sweet & spicy to the classic chicken soup.
Medicinal Chicken Soup:
6 cups chicken broth
chicken meat, cut to roughly 1” pieces
3 shallots, diced
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, halved
3 – 4 baby bok choy, chopped with stems separated from leaves
thumb-sized hunk of ginger root, peeled & diced
3 cinnamon sticks, whole
1/2 cup goji berries (gou qi zi)
Directions:
1. If it’s a rainy weekend afternoon, and you want to start this soup with a big pot of home-made chicken stock, great! I like to take a whole chicken carcass with the meat removed, put it in a stock pot with at least 1” of water covering it, add 2 tbs of vinegar or lemon juice (which helps to extract the minerals from the bones), bring it to a boil, skim the top of the broth, and then simmer for 4 – 24 hours. Strain the bones and you’ve got broth!
2. If you just got home & dinner is in an hour, you want to use some chicken bouillon and already cooked chicken meat. I like this brand.
And I insist NO guilt, regret, nor feeling bad that you didn’t make your own bone broth, etc. because honestly, ain’t no body got time for that.
You’re about to fill your home with the smells of home-made (& medicinal!) chicken soup – you’re a rockstar.
3. Set aside your broth (home-made or bouillon-based).
4, In the stock pot, put 2 tbs butter or coconut oil, diced shallots, minced fresh ginger, carrots, and the stems of the bok choy & sauté for 5 – 7 minutes, until shallots are translucent.
5. Add the shiitake mushrooms & the tops of the baby bok choy for another minute.
6. Pour in your chicken broth, cinnamon sticks, goji berries, & cubed chicken meat & simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
7. Before serving, remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon. you can – and want to – leave the goji berries (yum!) and minced ginger.
8. By now, your family will certainly have been drawn to the kitchen via the smells of home-made chicken soup simmering on the stove, so serve it up!
Until next time!
Arista